tomatoes

Garden Chronicles: March - April 2018 - The Beginning

Garden Chronicles: March - April 2018 - The Beginning

When I asked on Insta Polls, I received overwhelming support for blogging about my garden! Thank you very much. I am really gratified by your interest. And, so I am starting this series to share my experiences and learnings!

This first post talks about starting seeds indoors before the frost goes away. Many of the seeds were started 8 weeks before the last frost in my region. I have included my experiences with germinating and seeding peas, tomatoes and peppers, as well as tips on how to keep them healthy, as I learnt through the process of the first 8 weeks.

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Just another tart!

Quinoa Tart



Apologies for skipping my Silent post last week. I ended up traveling across the pond for a bit. More on that in a bit, in another post. For now, I just wanted to leave you with a quick, healthy everyday meal.

I love making tarts and letting my fancy fly into creative fillings. This one was really a leftover inspiration on an afternoon following a highly ambitious (on the appetite) quinoa dinner from the night before.


Quinoa Tart slice


Nothing fancy. Just cooked quinoa spiced with harissa topped with ripe tomatoes (I was lucky to find them!) and whipped potatoes. It makes a lovely hearty meal.



Quinoa Tart

1 (8 inch) tart crust
1 cup cooked quinoa
2 shallots, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp harissa
3 T fresh peas
2 ripe vine tomatoes sliced
1 russet potato, cooked
2 T cream
salt, pepper and olive oil as needed

Roll out the tart dough and fit into a tart mould. Refrigerate until ready to use. Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Saute the shallots and garlic in olive oil until soft. Add salt, pepper, harissa and peas and cook for a minute. Fold in the quinoa, turn down the heat to low and cook covered for 5 minutes.

With a potato ricer or a masher, finely mash the potatoes. Fold in the cream. Season to taste. When ready to assemble, spread the quinoa into an even layer. Arrange the tomato slices over the quinoa. Top with the mashed potatoes.

Bake the tart for 40 minutes until the potatoes are fluffed and light golden brown and the tart crust is cooked.

Cool for 10 minutes and serve topped with sprouts, grated parmesan and a fresh salad.